Davos attendees fear economic uncertainty under Trump's presidency

Attendees at the ongoing 2025 World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland have expressed concerns over the potential uncertainties brought by the Trump administration, particularly regarding the proposed tariff policies.

At noon on Monday, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, beginning his second term as he returns to the White House after four years.

Trump has repeatedly vowed to implement additional tariffs on a broad range of trading partners, raising concerns that the burden of tariffs will fall on American businesses.

"I think he's proposing lots of tariffs. We'll see how much of that actually plays out. Often a lot of what he says turns out to be less dramatic than what he originally said, so we'll have to see," said Andy Merrill, a partner at the international integrated marketing firm Prosek.

Emily Gallagher, an attendee from New York, voiced similar concerns, emphasizing the potential impact on the U.S. economy.

"I think with his love of tariffs, that's really going to affect the U.S. economy. And then, of course, how imports and exports work, and that's definitely going to affect our relationships with other countries," said Gallagher.

Floriane Lavaud, a senior partner with the international law firm Withers, also shared her concern about the uncertainty after Trump's inauguration.

"I think there's going to be a lot of uncertainty for sure. I think he's already made statements very recently, and I think [the statements] have caused some fear that things will move very quickly after he is inaugurated," said Lavaud.

Others believe that the unpredictability will likely extend to various areas, given Trump's tendency to tackle issues in unconventional and unexpected ways.

"I think President Trump brings a fresh perspective to almost every issue. And no one knows exactly what that perspective is," said John Quelch, executive vice chancellor of Duke Kunshan University.

Davos attendees fear economic uncertainty under Trump's presidency

Davos attendees fear economic uncertainty under Trump's presidency

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Ukraine stands ready to agree to security guarantees based on NATO's Article 5 as part of a compromise in the peace process, according to media reports.

"From the very beginning, Ukraine's desire was to join NATO, these are real security guarantees. Some partners from the United States and Europe did not support this direction," the Ukrinform news agency quoted Zelensky.

Zelensky said Article 5-like guarantees from the United States and from European partners, as well as from other countries, "would provide an opportunity to prevent another arrival of Russian troops." He also called it "a compromise on our part."

Zelensky said he was not yet ready to disclose specific details of the proposed security guarantees, saying they would be known in a day or two.

Ukrainian president arrived in Berlin on Sunday afternoon for talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other European leaders.

German newspaper Bild reported that Zelensky may also hold talks with representatives of U.S. President Donald Trump, but did not elaborate further.

According to Ukrinform, Zelensky said the same day that Ukraine must be prepared for any possible developments regarding elections.

"I asked our partners to assist with the security situation if elections are held, and I said that lawmakers should prepare options for how this could be implemented if the situation develops in that direction. They should work out, in the near future, options for holding elections," he said in a statement in response to journalists' questions.

He said he had received "signals" from the United States and President Trump regarding Ukraine's presidential election.

Ukraine says ready to accept NATO-style security guarantees